Luigi Bevilacqua Silk Weaving Mill, Venice, Italy

We woke up in the alpine calm of our campground near Chandolin, the birds chirping, the air so fresh it could probably be bottled and sold to stressed-out city folks. After a hearty breakfast (which may or may not have included a final farewell fondue), we bid adieu to the legacy of Ella Maillart, slung our packs into Shehzadi, our ever-reliable Toyota Tundra and hit the road with our fellow adventurers Odyssean Journey in Chetak, their Toyota Hilux Invincible-X.

Sierre, Switzerland

Our heading? Italy! But not the usual boring border crossing with passport stamps and yawns. Nope. We decided to ride through the belly of the Alps — literally — on the Autoverlad Brig-Iselle car train, rocketing through the legendary Simplon Tunnel like caffeinated hobbits in pickups.

Chandolin, Switzerland

We broke camp at sunrise near Lyon, France, after our border-hopping day through Andorra, French motorways and the Pont Séjourné viaduct, the sky just beginning to blush behind the mountains and the air sharp enough to wake even the sleepiest overlander. Today was the day we (a) visited the famous Silk Museum of Lyon, France and (b) traveled into Switzerland through Charlie Chaplin and Ella Maillart territory. The next chapter of our Silk Road expedition was calling and it came with silk artesans, alpine peaks, endless switchbacks and the promise of standing in the shadow of the Matterhorn and visiting the Chandolin home of legendary Swiss traveler Ella Maillart.

Switzerland, France and Germany: A Trifecta of European Shenanigans

German side of the Three Countries Bridge Flags of Switzerland, France, Germany, the European Union and Weil am Rhein This bridge is so international it needs a passport just to cross itself

We did Switzerland, France, and Germany in one swing because borders here are less dramatic than our coffee needs.

Quick planning cheatsheet

• Currencies: Switzerland uses Swiss francs (CHF). France and Germany use euros (EUR).
• Emergency number: 112 works across the EU, and it also works in Switzerland.
• Power plugs: Switzerland uses Type J. France commonly uses Type E. Germany uses Type F.
• Getting around: Cities are built for walking plus public transport. Trains between countries are routine.
• Driving in Switzerland: Motorways require a vignette (toll sticker).

• Language: French is the default. Alsace also has a regional dialect (Alsatian) you may hear.
• Getting around: The historic center is very walkable, and Strasbourg has a modern tram network.
• What to pack: Rain happens. Umbrellas are helpful. So are shoes that don’t hate cobblestones.

Strasbourg basics we actually used

• Languages: German is the most common language in Zürich. Switzerland has four national languages overall: German, French, Italian, and Romansh.
• Water: Zürich’s public fountains are widely used for drinking water.
• Public transport: Trams and S-Bahn trains make it easy to skip driving inside the city.

Zürich basics we wish our wallet had read first

If you just want a simple route: Basel area for the “three countries” flex, Strasbourg for storybook streets, and Zürich for lakeside calm with big-city prices.

This long and juicy roadtrip travel guide takes you overland through the stunning heart of Europe:

• Cities: Paris (France) → Zürich (Switzerland) → Basel (Switzerland) → Huningue (France) → Three Countries Bridge (France, Germany, Switzerland) → Strasbourg (France) → Kehl (Germany) → Baden-Baden (Germany) → Heidelberg (Germany) → Triberg (Germany) → Meiringen (Switzerland) → Lucerne (Switzerland) → Venice (Italy)
• Provinces (Regions): Île-de-France (France) → Grand Est [Alsace] (France) → Canton of Zürich (Switzerland) → Canton of Aargau (Switzerland) → Canton of Basel-Stadt (Switzerland) → Baden-Württemberg (Germany) → Canton of Bern (Switzerland) → Canton of Obwalden (Switzerland) → Canton of Lucerne (Switzerland) → Canton of Glarus (Switzerland) → Veneto (Italy)

Europe has this funny habit of cramming multiple countries into spaces smaller than some American parking lots. Switzerland, France and Germany decided to play a particularly intense game of border hopscotch in this corner of the continent. We'd just finished ogling Parisian opulence and decided to trade baguettes for bratwurst via Switzerland, because why take the direct route when you can involve three currencies, four languages and enough bureaucracy to make a paperwork enthusiast weep with joy?

Our route was essentially a literary pub crawl with better scenery. We followed Victor Hugo's hunchback inspiration in Strasbourg, chased Dostoevsky's gambling demons in Baden-Baden, hunted Goethe's ginkgo poem in Heidelberg and nearly tumbled down the Reichenbach Falls like Sherlock Holmes' inconvenient demise. All this while dodging cuckoo clocks in the Black Forest that probably contained more intricate machinery than our first car.

London–Paris–Versailles–Zurich Train Journey: Europe Rail Travel, City Sightseeing & Palace Tours

On our way to the Palace of Versailles. Did you know the palace's garden fountains actually run on a 17th-century hydraulic system that once used 14 massive water wheels and roughly 250 pumps (historically documented at about 259 pumps)? During Louis XIV's reign, the gardens consumed never produced enough pressure to run all the fountains at once. The king's gardeners would sometimes paint grass green during droughts to maintain appearances.

London ➡️ Paris ➡️ Versailles ➡️ Zurich. Our European train travel adventure continues with what we call the "Channel Dash" - that mad sprint from London to Paris via the underground tunnel that still feels like science fiction. After chasing solstice shadows at Stonehenge and getting thoroughly windswept in Scottish coastal towns, we figured civilization might be nice. So we traded North Berwick's sea spray for Parisian perfume, reminding us that sometimes the best travel plan is simply booking a seat and watching the countryside roll by.